Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The Swordsmanship Genius Who Transcends Through a Pact Chapter 14

“Of course I believe in Lord Ian.”

“You'd better.”

“Ian, don't tell me you've actually wagered Sir Tarian in some kind of bet?”

My brother seemed to have figured out the flow of the conversation, and I simply smiled at his question.

As we talked, I could feel the sharp gazes around us.

Most of them weren't reacting to our conversation, but rather staring at Tarian in surprise.

‘He really is famous.’

He was still considered a young knight, yet he'd already accumulated several achievements.

Naturally, he was often mentioned as a potential future Sword Master.

Though the general assessment was only that he had the potential, and still had a long way to go.

“The long-awaited Subjugation Festival begins now. May the future of the North shine by its own strength.”

Just like the previous day's opening address, Luke Vahen kept his remarks brief before scanning the crowd from the platform.

‘Right now...’

As I watched him, I realized his gaze lingered on me for quite a while.

If our eyes had merely met briefly, I wouldn't have thought much of it, but the sight of him grinning wide enough to show his teeth sent an unnecessary chill down my spine.

‘He knows.’

It seemed he already knew what Johannes and I had discussed.

Well, there was no way he wouldn't know what happened inside House Vahen.

Thinking that, I let out a small, incredulous laugh of my own.

The moment that seemingly eternal gaze finally left me, I realized cold sweat had formed on the back of my neck.

“Hoo.”

“...”

Apparently Tarian and my brother felt the same way.

“Are you all right?”

“Thankfully.”

He felt completely different from yesterday.

An existence above ordinary knights.

I'd known the gap would be enormous, but I hadn't expected to feel this overwhelmed by a mere look.

‘And I need to grow beyond even that.’

Still, it wasn't discouraging.

If anything, my first thought was that I had to reach and surpass that level.

“Looks like it's about to begin.”

“Please don't get hurt. And while you're at it, if you could raise the family's prestige without pushing yourself too far, that would be even better.”

I nodded at the words of encouragement from my brother, who usually did nothing but worry about me.

There was still concern mixed into his voice, but the corners of my mouth twitched upward anyway.

“Just trust me.”

“I'll be cheering for you from here.”

Leaving Tarian's calm encouragement behind as well, I slipped among the dozens of young nobles gathered there.

Then I felt someone's gaze.

Seeing Johannes Vahen burning with determination made me chuckle.

‘I'm winning.’

I mouthed the words at him.

He looked ready to explode, apparently understanding me perfectly.

Bwooo—

Before he could react, a horn sounded to signal the beginning of the Subjugation Festival.

“Move!”

“Out of the way, that side is mine...”

Apparently many of them already knew each other, because they shouted back and forth while rushing toward the forest.

I followed leisurely behind them.

Soon, I saw everyone beginning to spread into several different paths.

‘Of course.’

The Subjugation Festival usually offered three choices.

The left path held low-level monsters and was comparatively easy, while the right path contained ordinary threats like Snowfield Wolfbears.

And the final option was...

“I knew you'd take this path too.”

“I'm surprised you didn't chicken out.”

The center path.

The one Johannes Vahen and I were now taking.

This was where monsters and demonic beasts dangerous enough to genuinely threaten one's life were released.

‘Cute kid.’

I knew he'd hesitated and only followed once he saw me head this way.

He could've gone ahead of me too, yet he'd deliberately matched his pace to mine.

“Chicken out? What are you talking about?”

“I don't know. Didn't anyone around you try to stop you?”

The subtle provocation worked immediately, and Johannes glared when he understood what I meant.

‘His level isn't bad.’

A scion of a prestigious family, with fairly decent skill to boot.

There was nothing strange about him choosing the center path, but with how nervous he looked...

“...”

“See? They did try to stop you.”

Well, he didn't even look like he'd reached adulthood yet.

He'd been holding a sword for years, but he clearly lacked real combat experience.

Give him another year or two and he'd probably reach knight level...

‘But not yet.’

-Hmph, what do you know about Johan!

“...?”

-You think you can just take me whenever you want? Hmph! Shameless bastard!

The voice came just as I was about to move ahead, and my gaze shifted involuntarily.

Toward the sword hanging from Johannes's waist.

-You'll never beat Johan!

-I'll even promise you this. If you beat Johan, I'll give you the Vahen mana cultivation art too!

“Interesting.”

-But if you lose, you have to kneel and apologize to Johan!

“We'll see.”

We'll find out who ends up apologizing.

More importantly, I hadn't expected a sword to speak to me before I'd even touched it.

[Achieve a better result in the Subjugation Festival than Johannes Vahen while he is using Winterbane (Rare)]

[0/1]

But I couldn't possibly ignore what it had offered.

‘The Vahen mana cultivation art.’

My mana efficiency had already increased, so if I obtained a proper cultivation art on top of that, the synergy would be tremendous.

I smiled at the thought of it simply being handed over.

“What are you finding interesting?”

“Nothing. Let's have a good match.”

With that, I took a long step forward.

* * *

Slash-!

A massive Frost Giant split in two.

The icy flower petals blooming around it were stained red with blood.

‘That is...?’

Johannes Vahen stared in shock.

What kind of monster was a Frost Giant?

Two of them were enough to wipe out a squad of soldiers, and five gathered together could devastate an entire village.

“That's another one.”

Yet Ian was dispatching Frost Giants with ease.

To Johannes, the sight was impossible to believe.

‘How did this happen?’

At first, he'd only approached Ian because seeing a swordsman around his own age was a novelty.

The other children of House Vahen were far beyond his level, while the children of other noble families were beneath him.

That was why, when he saw Ian carrying an unusual presence, he'd thought he might have finally found a worthy rival.

But after hearing that Ian had spent a year living as a useless shut-in even within House Rashid, he'd been disappointed.

‘He's unworthy of Tarian.’

That was why he'd accepted the wager so readily.

He didn't believe Ian was worthy of being Tarian's lord.

‘I can't simply hand him over to someone like that.’

Tarian had been the teacher who instructed him in swordsmanship as a child, and Johannes had also carried the childish desire to learn that swordsmanship for himself.

Once he'd realized Tarian possessed the potential to become a Sword Master, he'd wanted him even more.

Of course, Tarian had left immediately once the swordsmanship instruction contract ended, but Johannes had always believed he'd find him again someday.

Only for their reunion to reveal the worst possible outcome—Tarian serving someone else as his lord.

Whoosh-!

While Johannes was lost in thought, a Frost Giant had already approached and swung its massive club.

It looked as though it were swinging an entire tree, and Johannes immediately circulated mana to reinforce his body.

Slash-

He cut through the tree cleanly, but the recoil was tremendous.

Frost Giants were among the monsters capable of devastating the North through sheer physical ability alone.

They weren't weak enough to simply stand there and take a counterattack born from panic.

‘Dangerous...’

The Frost Giant bared its teeth in a grin as it approached Johannes.

Johannes instinctively stepped backward, tripped, and squeezed his eyes shut.

Slash-

Ian had already leapt into the air and cut through the Frost Giant's neck.

The giant's severed head, still wearing its grin, flew through the air and dropped directly in front of Johannes.

“Eek!”

Startled, Johannes hurriedly looked away, only to see that every Frost Giant that had surrounded them had already become a corpse.

“Hey, you all right?”

Unlike Johannes, who'd frozen in panic after being caught off guard, Ian had practically slaughtered the Frost Giants.

The difference was obvious.

“I thought you'd at least manage to kill one.”

“I-I was caught off guard.”

“What an achievement.”

Johannes couldn't think of anything to say in response to Ian's mocking tone, as though he were about to applaud him.

The difference in skill was simply too great to argue with.

“Kh, you're right. I wasn't good enough.”

“At least you know how to admit your mistakes.”

“I knew it was reckless. I simply didn't want to give up.”

Ian chuckled at Johannes's frank admission.

He really wasn't a bad person by nature.

He was simply far too young compared to the version Ian knew from the game.

“Just get up.”

Ian extended a hand and pulled him to his feet.

‘He's definitely someone worth bringing over to my side.’

Rather than a party member, Johannes was more suited to being a supporter.

And with House Vahen behind him, there was no downside to establishing an alliance.

When Ian's thoughts reached that point, he smiled.

“Stop letting your guard down and focus on the competition. Don't ruin yourself by worrying about what someone else is doing.”

“...”

“Do your best. It'd be boring if I won too easily.”

Several emotions flickered through Johannes's eyes.

He'd rudely demanded that Ian hand over Tarian, a man belonging to another household, yet Ian had shown him kindness instead.

And Ian's skill was impressive enough to fill Johannes's eyes with admiration.

‘Another teacher...!’

Anyone with something worth learning could be treated as a teacher.

Johannes reached out enthusiastically.

“Understood. I shall live up to your expectations.”

‘He seems to have misunderstood something.’

Ian briefly wondered how Johannes had twisted a simple “do your best” into that conclusion.

But deciding there was no harm in it, he smiled and shook his hand.

-J-Johan? What about me?!

Ian barely held back his laughter at the flustered voice and continued forward.

‘My ability really is on a completely different level from before.’

Frost Giants would've been difficult opponents back when I cleared the dungeon.

Their physical capabilities were roughly comparable to the ancient great warrior I'd fought back then.

They might seem easy because they barely possessed any technique, but the fact that they moved in groups made them troublesome enemies.

‘But I beat them easily.’

I'd spent so long playing the game that I already understood Frost Giant movement patterns.

That information was part of why I'd been confident enough to propose the wager.

Even so, I hadn't expected it to be this easy.

‘My growth really is fast.’

Especially with both Frost's Blessing and Frostfang.

Even Frost Giants, which possessed resistance to cold, were writhing from frostbite.

I immediately drew up my mana and tore through the center path.

Corpses of Frost Giants began piling up in moments.

A considerable amount of time passed, and the Subjugation Festival finally ended as the sun began to sink.

The event held on the second day was meant for promising youths.

Even the more exceptional among them had only managed to kill four or five Frost Giants.

And among those participants.

Thud-!

A huge sack landed on the ground with a heavy sound.

It was packed full of Frost Giant heads.